ONTARIO – Ontario hosted a little taste of L.A. basketball Saturday night, with the Lakers’ minor league team playing at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

The D-Fenders, who currently play their home games at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo with a cozy capacity of 350, took on the Bakersfield Jam in an exhibition opener that went into overtime.

The Lakers’ presence was highly visible in front of a small but vocal crowd that filled about a fourth of the lower level. The D-Fenders were clad in purple and gold. The Laker Girls performed during timeouts and the recognizable voice of public address announcer Lawrence Tanter called the action.

Citizens Business Bank Arena general manager Steve Eckerson would love to see a lot more nights like Saturday, albeit with more people in the stands.

D-Fenders president/CEO Joey Buss would like the same and can envision more games in Ontario down the road. But the son of Lakers owner Jerry Buss is taking a cautious approach to any potential move of the NBA Development League team that started in 2006.

“I think the market is very intriguing for us,” Buss said. “This is an exploratory search right now. I think we will continue to grow our brand a lot here, and if that growth goes as expected, I think you’ll see more D-Fender games out here.”

Buss said growing the product could include events like the clinic the team held for members of the Ontario-Montclair YMCA on Saturday. It was hosted by assistant coach Conner Henry, a Claremont High School product.

The road to any full relocation to Ontario would not be traveled lightly.

“We’re definitely going to be careful and err on the side of caution,” said Buss, who is aware of the success of the Ontario Reign hockey team, which has led the ECHL in attendance the last three years.

“It’s definitely an indication of how well you can grow a brand here. We have high hopes that the fan base, if we decided to move here, would strongly support us.”

Eckerson clearly feels the same. He joked about having a contract in his pocket ready for Buss to sign, but he understands it will be a process.

“I know he likes the market and he loves the building,” Eckerson said. “But when you move a team, it’s a big commitment. I wouldn’t want them to come out here and not be successful. That would make Ontario, the building and the I.E. look bad.

“In my mind, I’d like to see them here next season, if not for a whole season maybe half, if that’s possible. Given the Lakers brand and what I’ve seen here tonight, I’m very bullish on the idea.”

So were several fans at the game who would love a shorter drive and lower prices to see a pro sports team in action,

“If we were to get the D-Fenders here, I’d probably get season tickets,” said Steve Owens, 44, of Beaumont, who has Reign season tickets and tries to get to two or three Lakers and Kings games in L.A. every year. “It would be way cheaper. I brought my brother, his wife and three kids, and we spent at least $200 less than going to L.A.

“I think it would be an easy sell. The IE has a ton of people – you just have to have a good product and people will come.”